I found it odd that they would want to begin racing in May when it will more than likely be a wet track , surely that is not what you want on a brand new surface . I suspect that you are correct in assuming that racing will begin next season .

Can’t say I’m a fan of hrnz but I do think the one thing they have got right (imo the only thing) is their website 

The Listed 2yo race has been taken off New Plymouth this season , I presume because of poor numbers and quality .  But a new Listed 2yo race on the same day has been has now been programmed at Ellerslie , the nom's for this bright shiny new race are out and only 5 nom's , 1 winner and 4 mdns , 3 unraced .  Now the first question is "Would this have been any worse if it had still been run at NP ?", and the second is "Will this race still be run if there is no increase in runners ?". This proofs to me that there is a real disconnect in the programming and calendar , and that there needs to be complete overhaul of these . The more cynical part of me thinks that it is a continuation of the slow drift of races being moved north for convenience .

At absolutely no surprise to anyone…racing by the looks wont be back there at all this season!

It's so embarrassing, I'm almost embarrassed for them. It's off-putting though, and I've found in recent weeks I've reduced from a small-time weekend-only punter (it's a long time since mid-week meetings floated my boat, but they did once upon a time) to an even smaller-time big-meeting-only punter. Just reviewing my betting there was a little rush around New Year's Eve & New Year's Day, then virtually nothing until KM night. And funnily enough, the reduced attitude has been successful financially too!!! Although that's more likely to be a temporary illusion 🤣. Even a couple of timers I can see where I've turned the tele on and just had one random bet on whatever was up next on a Sunday, and even those bets have had some returns at good odds, but as for the watching all afternoon and punting on this, that and the other, l just can't be bothered. maybe once the next Australian carnivals kicks off it may restore some interest, but we will see.  i tend to rely on the comments more than many race fans, as i don't watch as much as l once did, and my memory is not what it once was. Therefore, with the crap Entain is serving up now, it makes it difficult for me to "get involved" outside of the big races where the form is more exposed and l do know the horses ca little more. I'm certainly not going to back anything using their "tips".  

Great moms for Hawera, so different from Otaki last week.

UPDATE: CA FIRES — A Forensic Arborist has Determined that Nearly All Wildfires in California since the Paradise Fires have been Caused by Direct Energy Weapons. • Robert Brame has over 38 years of experience as an arborist and has spent the last 48 years studying the plant kingdom, focusing on California's native flora. • He has conducted extensive fieldwork, making 106 trips to the aftermath of 38 different wildfires mostly in California. —— According to his analysis, he determined that only THREE of these fires were due to natural causes. • One example he provides is the Coffey Park Fire, in Santa Rosa California in 2017. —— Several highly flammable trees were left entirely intact despite homes burning to the ground around it. Like what we see in the LA Fires. In all of his 120 trips to fire ravaged areas mostly in California, he has found strange consistent anomalies… • Aluminum has a melting point of 1300 Fahrenheit degrees, but was found in long string-like puddles away from vehicles. —— this suggests that the ground itself was heated beyond the point of 1300 degrees. • Glass has a melting point of 2700, and in all of his trips, he found glass completely melted out of vehicles. This is concerning because Wildfires can reach temperatures as high as 1,472°F (800°C) in the MOST INTENSE parts of the fire. —— However, the average temperature typically ranges between 572°F (300°C) and 1,112°F (600°C). —— Using that logic, there is no way Glass would melt. —— Using that logic, for any aluminum to melt, it would need to be in the most intense parts of the fire, which would NOT occur to vehicles in the middle of a road. • In other scenarios, fence posts made of wood only ignited near the screws or metal, leading him to believe it’s being heated up with some kind of microwave technology. • Another example he shows are trees that are literally cooking from the inside out, burning, while not one single leaf burned on the same trees. • Brame strongly believes some of these fires, like those in Lahaina, Maui, have been started or exacerbated by directed energy weapons (DEWS).    

Embarassing, ignorant, insulting to all racing people. And wont be changing. 

Thanks for the feedback.  As you would expect a bit varied, but still helpful.  My key takes from the feedback: - individual comp preferred over pairs/triples - multi week not single weeks, but some don't want the duration to be too long, while others want it to run through the Sydney carnival - multi format works ok. So based on all of that what I'm thinking is: Individual comp. start 8 February (weekend after next) and run for 10 weeks through to 12 April (QE Stakes day) - this meets the Sydney carnival preference but is not as long as 13-14 weeks. multi-format but only the more preferred formats, based on previous polls. More details to follow ahead of next week.

I read earlier the purchaser is the guy who used to own Ritchies bus company. He has 20 horses with Chris Waller, all owned and raced 100% by him. Imagine the monthly training bill !! https://www.anzbloodstocknews.com/editions/2025-01/28/web/assets/downloads/ANZ_250128_v1_online.pdf Go to page 5 for Mr Ritchie's comments.

Good to see Ben Gleeson still there as assistant trainer 👍 

Totally agree. We definitely get a better deal than the overseas websites that you mentioned. I was commenting on the implementation of the "refresh", not the content, which compares well to what's freely available on overseas counterparts.

May lose top buyer status this year? 😕

Compared to the USTA & HRA sites for me it is more user friendly and provides a lot more information which is easily accessed without having to sign in or pay for.  I think we have to give credit where it’s due and not just be negative for the sake of it.  Sure it’s more of a refresh than a redesign but I think it’s very well designed anyway.  No need to fix what isn’t broken IMO. 

Nice to see a couple of Dennis brothers in the replies. Lovely ,The Solitaire colt went for $485,000, and The Lustre filly for $140,000

Mi Bago leads a trio of Mark Casse-trained runners, all of whom exit victories, in the $165,000 Kitten's Joy Stakes at Gulfstream Park Feb. 1.View the full article

The New York Racing Association announced Jan. 27 that general admission tickets, hospitality offerings, and reserved seats for the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at historic Saratoga Race Course will go on sale to the public Feb. 13 at 10 a.m. ET.View the full article

Former champion rider Gavin Lerena repeatedly whipped a rival jockey during race Jan. 26 at Turffontein. Lerena stood in the irons and hit Jason Gates with his riding crop three times in the final furlong. View the full article

The Phantom, The Phantom Chance

Another win for Trump , take him on and you will lose , this left wing President learned that the hard way and embarrassed himself in the process , what a stupid stance to take . Under threats from President Trump that included steep tariffs, President Gustavo Petro of Colombia has relented and will allow U.S. military planes to fly deportees into the country, after turning two transports back in response to what he called inhumane treatment.